What purpose did his Two-Piece Jade serve now, its shimmering beauty rendered hollow in the absence of his mate?
Plutonic had always known that one day Ninah would leave this world, but he never fathomed it would happen so soon.
She had never been an immortal druid, and now the thought of her not ever returning, not even in another life, clawed at his insides.
Five hundred years stretched before him, a painful path he was supposed to walk alongside her, crafting dreams of immortality together — a future where they would bask in eternity, together, with no need for another.
But now... she was gone.
Gone. A word that echoed with a haunting finality, leaving nothing but shadows of the dreams they had built.
How could a once-vibrant tapestry of hopes unravel into these frayed memories?
The lush landscapes of possibility lay barren, replaced by grief that seeped into every crevice of his being.
Each breath was a reminder of what had been lost, every heartbeat resonating with a sorrow that felt insurmountable.
He spat blood, his body echoing the emotional rupture as the bond between them faded into an abyss.
He had never even given her his jade, never bestowed on her the symbol of his heart.
What tormented him more? The reality that he had prioritized his work over the love of his life? Or the profound emptiness left by her absence?
Days, weeks, or perhaps even years lost to the relentless demands of duty. If only he'd chosen differently, if only he had been there to guard not just the clan but his very nest, his family.
All that remained was a hollow shell where once was warmth and connection. Regret hung around him like a heavy fog, smothering any remaining flicker of hope.
Tears had dried in his eyes, leaving nothing but a gritty ache in their place.
He felt powerless, unable to weep for the soul he had lost or to resurrect that which was no longer living. His gaze fell to Lucky, their son, innocent and fragile.
A small mercy that life had gifted him with a child. Yet what solace was there in the survival of the boy when he would grow up bereft of his mother's love?
Lucky clung to Ninah's lifeless form, a quiet storm of heartache swirling around him as if his young mind couldn't process the tragedy unfolding before him.
Rufus placed a steadying hand on the boy's head, the silence between them heavy with unspoken grief.
The jade which had once held so much meaning now felt like a cruel reminder of his failures, a hollow trinket reflecting all that was lost.
He remembered the day Ninah first gazed upon it; her face illuminating with joy, a light that seemed impossible to extinguish.
She had squealed in delight as she beheld its perfect spin, recognizing it as her heart's counterpart. Now, it served as a token of a love that could not be resurrected.
The jade had always symbolized the connection between them, a lifeline of sorts. And yet, he had clung to it as a talisman while she slipped away, the very thing that could have saved her now a source of torment.
He cursed himself for not giving her his piece of jade; for not trusting her with his heart.
If he had only known that this would be their last day together, would he have stayed, missed the endless nights of work, and cherished every fleeting moment instead? In that instant, he understood that his neglect had cost him everything.
The realization crushed him—the jade was supposed to protect Ninah, yet he had let it lie dormant in his possession, rendering it powerless, just as he had been in her final moments.
With each tick of sorrow, he grasped that this jade didn't just symbolize his love but a promise.
A promise to protect her. Yet it had shattered along with their dreams, crackling like fragile glass under the weight of his regret. Plutonic reclined on the soft earth, cradling Ninah's lifeless body.
He couldn't lift his gaze, didn't want to witness the pity in his clan's eyes as they gathered around, helpless.
He formed a hollow pit in his chest as he strained to breathe, to smell her one last time. How would he live without the sweet essence of her presence, the joy of her laughter ringing in his ears?
"I love you so, so much," he whispered softly against the silence, the words drifting into the still air, lost forever. Would her soul hear him? Would she know the depths of his remorse, haunting him in the echo of their unfulfilled life together?
"Plutonic?" Hamlin's voice was a distant, muted sound, almost swallowed by the weight of despair. He stayed silent, caught in the quagmire of his own regret.
As he prepared to offer her a final resting place, the memory of happier times clawed at his heart.
He and Ninah had etched their names on a boulder in the woods, a token of love shared in the sunlight, but now darkness surrounded him like an unending void.
"Your sunshine. Ninah." It read bitter sweetly, and he stood over it, feeling the hollowness pierce through the remnants of joy. The sunlight that had once brightened his world had irrevocably set, leaving him in a dim, lifeless landscape devoid of warmth and vibrancy.
His fingers traced the cool surface of the boulder as he engraved a final message beneath her name. "Sunshine forever in my heart and soul. A living wife, mother, and best friend." The words seemed to dissolve into the earth, futile gestures in the face of such a profound loss.
Touching the stone brought him no comfort; it was merely rock, devoid of the once fervent life they had shared.
"What now?" Aisha asked, her voice quivering with uncertainty, a shadow of her usual strength.
He surveyed the burned remains of their home, the sanctuary now a charred testament to sorrow.
They could rebuild, but every morning would greet him with the ghost of his family, a haunting echo reminding him of the precious ones he had lost.
Sleep, once a refuge, now seemed impossible. How could he close his eyes without the warmth of her embrace, the comforting sound of morning laughter echoing in his ears?
"We'll move. We'll voyage the world and become the justifiers we were meant to be!" His voice was a desperate plea to redefine their purpose, to escape the torment that surrounded them. He longed for anonymity in their travels, to disappear into the world beyond, chasing shadows of justice to fill the void.
"We'll train our sons to be leaders and warriors just as our fathers did!" The words came out fervent yet tinged with sorrow—a sort of hope buried beneath layers of pain, a fragile promise for a future that felt so bleak.
"We are no longer a clan... but a pack. Where we live closer together, united!" His voice surged, a flicker of strength igniting in the depths of his despair. "We move fast, and we have strength; united we stand, divided we fall."
"Spoken like a true alpha," Hamlin echoed, a hint of homage glimmering in his somber tone. "My wife, son, and I are at your service. Together in this!"
Plutonic turned to them, seeking the flicker of hope in their eyes. Lucky looked up at him, sorrow reflected in his innocent gaze, his silence a heavy burden.
Aisha and Hamlin looked back, eyes brimming with unspoken connection and reluctant hope. It was a strange union forged in heartache, bound by their shared loss.
He looked up at the sky; the moon hidden behind clouds; the stars shivering like distant memories.
With a primal roar, he released the weight of his grief into the wind.
Hamlin and Aisha responded in kind, a shared declaration of solidarity, fierce and unyielding.
This was the beginning of something new, a raw and unbreakable bond born from the ashes of sorrow.
With a heavy heart, Plutonic took Lucky into his arms and began to walk, surrounded by Aisha, Hamlin, and Rufus, each step a determination to move forward, to protect the shards of life that remained.
He had something small to cherish now, a fragile light in the depths of his darkness: his son, his new family.
His heart ached with the knowledge of the future they would never have with Ninah.
But above all, he vowed to guard the love that had been left behind, to treasure it in the depths of his being as he stepped forward, determined to forge a new existence from the remnants of his shattered dreams.